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A Royal College of Anaesthetists/Difficult Airway Society airway lead should be appointed in all hospitals providing anaesthetic services.⁷

Where scheduled procedures cannot be accommodated within normal list times, anaesthesia departments should make arrangements for anaesthetists to be relieved by a colleague.⁸

There should be an appropriately trained theatre team including an on-call consultant anaesthetist 24/7 to provide anaesthesia for emergency head and neck surgery in head and neck cancer centres and in hospitals with an emergency department.⁹ 

Consideration should be given to identifying anaesthetists with advanced airway experience to support colleagues providing care to patients with complex airway emergencies.

Patients who have had a recent tracheostomy or airway surgery returning to a general ward, should be cared for by adequate levels of nursing staff who are skilled in the care of the surgical airway and aware of the specific risks involved.^{4,10,11,12,13} 

Many patients with head and neck cancer have significant comorbidities that may require optimisation prior to surgery. There should be a lead anaesthetist for preoperative assessment who works closely with an appropriate preoperative assessment team.¹⁴

Where laser surgery to the head and neck is performed staff must be appropriately trained in its safe use.^15,16 A laser protection adviser (LPA) should be consulted or appointed according to devolved administration or local authority regulations, and a local safety officer and/or an operational laser protection supervisor (LPS) appointed according to local advice from the LPA.¹⁷

Nursing and theatre staff trained to manage patients with a tracheostomy should be available in recovery areas of hospitals.^11,12

Recovery facilities should be staffed and have appropriate anaesthetic support until the patient meets the agreed discharge criteria.¹⁸

Many patients with intraoral malignancy, craniofacial disorders and traumatic facial injuries present with a predicted difficult intubation. There should be a full range of equipment relating to the management of the anticipated difficult airway available within the theatre suite.